The winter season brings dormant landscapes, shorter days, and the fluffy white stuff for us here in the Midwest. The deciduous trees drop their leaves and are all too often forgotten about until life returns in the Spring. What most don’t realize is that there is plenty of tree work to be done during the winter season and in many cases, it is the best time to have work done on your trees.
As far as the arboriculture industry is concerned, the only things we can’t do during the winter season is plant trees or treat trees for most insect or disease issues. Everything else is fair game. The most common services are pruning, cable/bracing installations, and tree removal. Some trees must be worked on during the dormant season to reduce the risk of disease contraction, but winter work will also provide you the benefits of the work being done sooner, more affordable, and reduced risk of impact to your turf or landscape plants.
Certain trees such as Oaks and American or Red Elms in our area, are best to be pruned during the dormant season to reduce the risk of contraction of Dutch Elm disease or Oak Wilt. Dutch Elm and Oak Wilt are fungal diseases spread by an insect. The insect is attracted to a wound or pruning cut on a tree and then can vector the disease to the tree. During the winter, that insect is dormant and not active, which allows arborists to safely work on these trees with a reduced risk of the disease being contracted.
Working in a tree during the winter is often much easier for an arborist because of the lack of leaves. It makes mobility in the tree much improved and allows them to see the entire crown of the tree and not be obstructed by the leaves. Another benefit of having tree work done in the winter season is the ground is typically frozen, which reduces turf damage risks while having tree work done. Because the general population forgets about their trees and tree care for them during the winter, waiting times to have tree work done is significantly shorter in the winter than during the summer. Resulting in less impact to your summer activities, such as outdoor parties or cookouts. Don’t forget discounts, we offer a 15% discount on all pruning, tree removal, and cable or bracing installation services. Our ISA Certified arborists will work with you to put the best plan together for your winter tree work.
Our urban forest is a challenging environment for the trees in our landscapes. The work and care for your trees takes time and professional skill, and the winter season is a great time to have your tree work done so that you can enjoy the beauty of your trees during the growing season and the times of the year that you are enjoying the outdoors. Thanks for helping enhance our urban forest and gain the benefits of winter season tree work!
